Itâs not just computersâhacking is everywhere.
A hack is any means of subverting a systemâs rules in unintended ways. The tax code isnât computer code, but a series of complex formulas. It has vulnerabilities; we call them âloopholes.â We call exploits âtax avoidance strategies.â And there is an entire industry of âblack hatâ hackers
intent on finding exploitable loopholes in the tax code. We call them accountants and tax attorneys.
In A Hackerâs Mind, Bruce Schneier takes hacking out of the world of computing and uses it to analyze the systems that underpin our society: from tax laws to financial markets to politics. He reveals an array of powerful actors whose hacks bend our economic, political, and legal
systems to their advantage, at the expense of everyone else.
Once you learn how to notice hacks, youâll start seeing them everywhereâand youâll never look at the world the same way again. Almost all systems have loopholes, and this is by design. Because if you can take advantage of them, the rules no longer apply to you.
Unchecked, these hacks threaten to upend our financial markets, weaken our democracy, and even affect the way we think. And when artificial intelligence starts thinking like a hackerâat inhuman speed and scaleâthe results could be catastrophic.
But for those who would don the âwhite hat,â we can understand the hackingmindset and rebuild our economic, political, and legal systems to counter those who would exploit our society. And we can harness artificial intelligence to improve existing systems, predict and defend
against hacks, and realize a more equitable world.